Back in 2009, right on the heels of House on the Cliff, I came across a play called The Second Lady by Jack Sharkey. I was looking for a simple, small-cast comedy for my second show with Houghton College. Second Lady had a lot of good, but the ending was just too ridiculous. I toyed with rewriting the ending a bit, but ultimately I passed on it in favor of Jake’s Women.
Cut
to 2011, after the ordeal that was Father of the Bride, I wanted something light and fun. Second
Lady popped into my head, but that stupid ending was still a problem. The humor was right, so I decided to see what
else old Mr. Sharkey had up his sleeve.
That’s when I found Spinoff. Here’s my review from my first dry reading of
Spinoff:
Looks
like I've found a strong candidate for the Spring play. Its brisk pace and
quick dialogue give Spinoff a fresh comedic feel. It's the story of an inside
bank robbery gone wrong. The six characters that make up the cast each play a
part in making this initially contained scenario spin out of control. It's
quirky and it's very funny. It's the kind of play I'd go to... it's the kind
of play I'd be in!
|
November 2011
Now as the story
goes, I did not do Spinoff because it
was requested I do a classic. That led to my selection of The Glass Menagerie, which in turn, ended up being my last show
with Houghton College. It’s a long
story. You probably know it already.
So now it’s 2015, and I just finished a production of Spinoff as director and cast
member. It had been in the back of my
mind for a long time and when the opportunity came up to do a show as part of
the Summer Reading Program at the library, I knew it was finally time for Spinoff.
Turns out, my old review ended up being both accurate and prophetic. I didn’t start out planning to direct and
act in Spinoff. In fact, I asked five
other guys to play Peter before I reluctantly took it myself. Because we were partnering with the David A.Howe Public Library, we didn’t have much flexibility with the show dates and it
just wouldn’t work for the fellas I knew.
On the bright side, I got to work with Eric and Ben again not just as
their director, but as a cast member too.
That was a great experience. I
was dead certain that Crimes of the Heart,
would be my last show with Eric and thought surely Wise Women would be my last with Ben. I’m glad I was wrong on those counts.
Rounding out the cast was Kendra
(whom I only directed once, Allegro),
Anna (Plucky Pipsqueak, Allegro and The Odd Couple) and Meg (#steelymags). It was good cast and fun to work with. We had a lot of good times… ice cream, taco
parties, Chinese buffets, Anna and Meg’s lack of cultural knowledge. The show
was as funny and as fun as I’d hope it would be. I had my doubts here and there, but we
rallied and the audience roared.
Over the years, I considered trying the actor/director thing, especially
considering how difficult it can be to get men to participate sometimes. I was always curious how it worked. I
wondered if I’d enjoy it. Well, I have
my answer now. I don’t think I’ll ever
do it again. Maybe some small one-scene
role, but never a full-fledged lead. I
felt like I could never really focus on being the director or on my performance
as an actor. It all worked out in the end
and ended up being a good experience overall.
I’m already excited about our next production. We are diving into the murder mystery genre,
with what will be the large casts we’ve ever had. I’ll be glad to be back in the director’s
chair for that one.
